Shore Leave
by krashkart
Summary: Dylan and the crew take some well deserved shore leave. What could possibly go wrong? Written by krashkart aka squid109 and Tarantulas - Complete
1. Rest and Relaxation

**Shore Leave**

**Rest and Relaxation**

"The crew has gone ashore, Captain. Only the watch section and the department heads are still aboard."

"Thank you Andromeda," replied Dylan as he checked his image in his stateroom's mirror ensuring that the jacket of his service dress grey uniform was fitting properly. "I'm probably looking forward to this down time even more than the crew is. I could use a little uncomplicated rest and recreation."

"I'm well aware of that Captain," replied Andromeda's core self from the staterooms viewscreeen. Your recent physical revealed rather high level stress related hormones in your body. You really do need some time off. Do you remember me informing you that the _Odin's Spear_ is docked here as well? Their commanding officer, Captain Hillerman, has requested your company for dinner on the _Odin_ tomorrow at 1930."

"Thank you, Andromeda. Please give Captain Hillerman my compliments and tell her that I will be delighted to attend. But tonight I am going to have a pleasant evening of doing nothing but relaxing."

Meanwhile in the workshop where Harper did his maintenance on Andromeda's avatar another conversation regarding shore leave was taking place. Rommie was sitting on the examination table, one of her access ports was open and Harper was making some adjustments to the electronics within. "Rom doll are you sure you want to do this?" asked Harper as he made some final adjustments to the circuitry he had been adjusting.

"I've already told you Harper, yes. I want to see what the attraction of ingesting ethanol based beverages is for organic beings."

"Well babe, these modifications will do the trick. Booze will now affect you the same way it would affect any woman of your weight. Never let it be said that the mighty Harper isn't willing to serve the most beautiful lady on the ship." His leer showed that he was willing to serve the lovely android in more than just one way.

"Thank you Harper," she said ignoring the sexual advance. "Trance, Beka, and I plan to have a girl's night out and I intend to thoroughly test your modifications."

"Err, ok," said Harper as he closed the maintenance panel. "Have fun but remember my modifications are going to give you all the effects of intoxication." He stressed the word all.

"Don't worry Harper. I'm a big girl. I'm sure I can handle the effects of a little ethanol." With that she got up off the table and headed to her quarters to change for her big night out.


	2. Girls Just Wanna have Fun Pt 1

**Girls night out**

"This looks like a good place," said Trance. "I like the music."

Beka, Rommie, and Trance were walking through the portion of the spaceport that was frequented by off duty spacers looking for entertainment the less refined type. The area was composed mostly of bars, restaurants offering food of questionable quality and even more questionable preparation practices, and tri-D video theaters depicting beings of various species engaged in different types of sexual activities. The establishments were brightly and garishly lit,with loud laughter and even louder music emanating from most of hem.

The place that Trance had selected was advertised by a multicoloured flashing sign showing a human head with the top part of the skull apparently blasting off from the rest of the head. Underneath the sign were the words. 'The Blast Off ' and in smaller letters 'Home of the galaxy famous Brain Blaster' The music coming out of the door consisted of some sort of stringed instrument playing loudly with a heavy dependence on the bass notes.

The women looked at each other then Beka shrugged and indicated that they should enter. The stepped into the establishment and paused just inside the doorway lettingt their eyes adjust to the dim lighting. The interior was filled with beings of nearly every oxygen breathing race known to the Commonwealth. Barmaids were maneuvering through the crowd delivering drinks and slaps while dodging groping hands, tentacles and other forms of appendages. In one corner of the room was a Nightsider manipulating some sort of electrical equipment, the music was coming from the equipment. Along the left side of the room was the bar, behind which were several human males who were busily mixing drinks and passing them to the barmaids. There was a buzz of conversation in dozens of different tongues. The room was filled with a cloud of smoke, which smelled of numerous substances most of which were illegal on the majority of planets within the Commonwealth. The women walked to one of the few empty tables attracting stares, whistles and 'hubba hubbas' as they walked across the floor. No sooner had they taken their seats than a barmaid came up to take their order.

"What you girls want?"

"Am I correct in assuming the brain blaster is an alcoholic drink?" asked Rommie.

"To put it mildly."

"I'll take one," said Rommie.

The bar maid gave her an odd look. "You sure honey?"

"Quite."

"I'll take one too," chimed in Trance. She had no idea what a brain blaster was but the name sounded interesting.

"Mineral water for me," put in Beka. "One of us is going to have to stay sober."

The drinks arrived and Beka bought the round, sliding her universal identification card through a slot in the serving tray and verifying the purchase with her thumbprint. The cost of the drinks was automatically deducted from her bank account and transferred to the account of the bar.

The drinks were sweet and fruity with no taste of alcohol at all. Rommie quickly consumed hers and signaled the barmaid for another. This time she bought the rounds, brain blasters for herself and Trance and another mineral water for Beka.

After the second drink Trance started feeling depressed. The occupants of several of the nearby tables were engaged in some passionate pre-copulatory activities and she began to miss her boyfriend.

"You'd think," she said to the universe in general and no one in particular, "that for a girl who can see multiple futures, pick the best one and exists in several universes simultaneously I wouldn't have any trouble getting a date. But no, I have to hook up with a man who lives 3,000 years ago and in a universe I don't have an incarnation in. And then whenever I do get a chance to sneak off to see him, half the time he's off on some strange planet saving his galaxy from a bunch of parasitic snakes. I tell you it isn't fair."

"You're so right," slurred Rommie she wasn't quite sure what Trance was talking about but she agreed.

"Wait a minute," said Beka. "What do you mean when you sneak off? When have you been sneaking off to see Dr. Jackson?" Her voice was somewhat slurred as well. She hadn't been drinking but some of the products being smoked had drifted over to the table the ladies were a occupying and the fumes were beginning to affect her.

Trance was saved from having to answer by the arrival of tall, dark and obnoxious. The creature approaching their table was approximately seven feet tall and appeared to be a cross between a goat and a lizard. It had a vaguely goat like face and lower limbs but its body was covered in dark green scales. It smelled like it had just bathed in the port's sewer system.

"Which one of you homely females wishes to be honored by accepting a dance with Kull," it asked.

"None of us," replied Beka.

"Then in that case I will pick one of you." As he said this he reached out and grabbed Beka's arms pulling her out of her chair.

As she came out of the chair Beka brought her knee up into the juncture of Kull's legs. There was a satisfactory thumping sound and Kull backed off a bit but didn't double over in pain as Beka was expecting, rather he pulled her closer to him.

Rommie took a millisecond to search Andromeda's database. She then stood up and brought her foot around in a sweeping motion catching Kull in the back of the knee joint. The lizard-goat collapsed on the floor writhing in pain.

"That wush a Treakan," explained Rommie. "Their shex organsh are in the back uf their knees." Her slur had gotten even more pronounced and she needed to place one hand on the table to steady herself as she walked back to her chair.

While Kull had been harassing Beka, Trance had felt a tickle in her mind. She tickled back. On the opposite side of the room a creature that looked like a madman's conception of a spider crossed with a horse suddenly jerked spasmodically and fell onto its side. It curled into a fetal position and began sucking on one of its manipulative appendages.

It was Trance's turn to buy the rounds. She did.


	3. Girls Just Wana Have Fun Pt 2

A short while later Dylan, Tyr, and Harper were walking through the same seedy portion of the entertainment district that Rommie and her friends had entered earlier. Their destination was a club that Harper had recommended from a previous visit. Several of the men in Andromeda's weapons department had received promotions and the department was having a wetting down party to celebrate. Dylan and Tyr as commanding officer and department head, were obligated to pay a visit. Harper had attached himself to them insisting that they wouldn't be able to locate the club by themselves. As they walked past the row of brightly lit bars, they heard a familiar voice coming from the open doorway of one of them. The owner of the voice was singing or rather attempting to sing.

"Harper, isn't that Rommie's voice," asked Dylan.

"It sure sounds like it boss. Maybe we had better check out what's going on" From the sound of her voice Harper feared that his modifications had been spectacularly successful.

The men entered the bar and stopped in amazement. Rommie was in the corner of the room that held the musical equipment. She had acquired a microphone and was accompanying the Nightsider as he played what could only be called a bump and grind. Rommie was providing a vocal accompaniment, singing something about giving her the pleasure seekers every time. Meanwhile Trance was dancing on one of the tables, her hips swinging provocatively as she moved to the music. More distressingly from Dylan's point of view was the fact that she had removed her outer clothing, the pieces of which which were now in the possession of a number of the bar's patrons, and was working on removing her bra.

Tyr observed the situation for a moment then commented mildly. "I think we need to put a stop to this Captain, before it gets out of hand."

"I think it's already out of hand. Tyr, you collect Trance. I'll get Rommie. Harper you go over there by Beka."

When Rommie saw Dylan approaching she gave him a big smile then her eyes turned glassy, rolled upwards and she fell face forward. Dylan leaped forward catching her just before she hit the floor. He hoisted her over his shoulder, her head hanging down over his back. She was passed out cold. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that Tyr had Trance slung over his shoulder as well.

"Stay out of this butinski."

"Let the girl dance."

"Take a hike mother…"

The patrons of the bar were clearly not happy with having the entertainment interrupted. Dylan was preparing to have to fight his way out of the bar when the catcalls suddenly stopped.

Four men had just walked into the club. They were identically dressed in blue jumpsuits and wearing wide black belts from which hung an assortment of ironmongery, there was a prominent patch on the breast pocket of each man's jumpsuit. The constabulary had arrived.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" said the largest of the four as he walked towards Dylan. The name embroidered on his jumpsuit read 'Stavers'

"Good evening officer," said Dylan. "I am Captain Dylan Hunt, commanding officer of the Andromeda Ascendant." He inclined his head towards Tyr. "The man with me is my weapons department officer, Tyr Anasaszi. These two women are members of my crew and we're returning them to my ship."

" I certainly hope you can prove what you said," said Stavers. "I'd hate to have to charge you with attempted kidnapping."

Dylan and Tyr proffered their High Guard identifications and after a few moments of fumbling around managed to locate Trance's and Rommie's as well.

"Well captain," said the police officer as he handed back the identification cards, "the way I see it you have two options."

Dylan didn't like the smile on the police officer's face. He knew where this conversation was going. The officer was getting ready to put the bite on him.

"Option one. I charge your crew women with drunk and disorderly conduct and public lewdness and you can let them plead their case before the Magistrate. The problem with that is the Magistrate is a very busy man. I doubt that he would be able to hear the case for at least another two weeks. And seeing that your crew women are transients and flight risks, I'm afraid that we would just have to insure their presence at the hearing by incarcerating them until the Magistrate is able to deal with their case."

"And the other option."

"As a law enforcement officer of the Kasimir spaceport, I'm empowered to deal with misdemeanors such as these myself. If you're willing to pay your crew members fines we can settle the matter right now."

"Just how much are we talking here?"

"Two counts of drunk and disorderly at 250 thrones each and one count of public lewdness at 500 thrones plus twenty percent court fees. A simple twelve hundred thrones will cover everything."

Dylan handed over his High Guard identification card to the officer who slid it through one of the devices suspended from his belt then returned the card to Dylan. Dylan checked the readout on the device, verified that the proper amount had been entered and keyed the authorization code that would deduct the money from the _Andromeda's_ petty cash account. Smiling broadly the police officer tendered Dylan a mocking salute and left the establishment.

"Tyr, let's get the women back to the Andromeda. If we hurry we can still make it to your department's party. Harper, you stay here with Beka and keep her out of trouble."

As Dylan left the bar with the unconscious Rommie slung over his shoulder, another part of Harper's modifications kicked in, she vomited. As she was hanging head down over Dylan's shoulder, the regurgitated drinks ran down his jacket and pants soaking them both.

When Dylan and Tyr arrived at the _Andromeda's_ main airlock, with Trance and Rommie slung over their shoulders like sacks of grain, Core and Logic were waiting for them.

"What have you done with our avatar?" demanded Core from the viewscreen.

Dylan felt like he was seventeen and being grilled by a pair of irate parents. Parents who were asking why he was bringing their daughter home after curfew and in a state of intoxication. Tyr always the master of survival took the opportunity to unobtrusively take Trance to her quarters while Core and her holographic counterpart were focusing their attentions on Dylan.

While Dylan was struggling for an answer Rommie regained consciousness and slid down off his shoulders. Seeing her alter egos she attempted to smile but once again her eyes rolled upwards and her knees buckled. Dylan having gone through this once before managed to catch her before she fell to the deck.

"Maybe I should take her to her quarters."

"You've done more than enough," snapped Logic her holographic form positively radiating outrage."We'll have a Maria take her to her quarters."

When the Maria arrived Dylan, still feeling like an errant teenager, meekly surrendered Rommie to the service bot and headed to his quarters to shower and change into a new uniform. Somehow he was not surprised that no matter how he adjusted the temperature controls the water in the shower was ice cold.


	4. The Boys are Back in Town

**The boys are back in town**

Approximately thirty minutes later Dylan clean and dressed in a fresh uniform was standing in the air lock waiting for Tyr. He had been forced to use a portable emergency light to make his way to the airlock since every time he entered a compartment the lights would go out.

"It seems that the ship is not pleased with you tonight," said Tyr looking at the emergency light as he made his well lit appearance a few moments later.

"We need to get going," said Dylan as he placed the lantern in one of the airlock's equipment racks. "We still have time to make an appearance at the wetting down. Besides I don't think you really want to linger here either. Andromeda might decide that you should bear some of the blame for Rommie's condition."

The smirk abruptly vanished from Tyr's face.

Despite Harper's earlier words they had no trouble finding the club. Tyr was too experienced with Andromeda's chief engineer and his ideas of a good time to agree to hold a party at a completely unknown location. He had thoroughly scouted the club and the area before agreeing to Harper's suggestion.

The club was "The Slipstream" it was a brightly lit as any of the other clubs but there was no music or the sound of laughter coming out of the club. It was oddly silent.

"Do you think they're trying to surprise us?" asked Dylan.

"Possibly, " replied Tyr. "I can hear breathing inside."

"Well let's go. Try to remember to act surprised."

The two men had no trouble acting surprised when they entered. Unfortunately they were not pleasantly surprised. It seemed that the crew of _Odin's Spear _had also chosen the club as a rendezvous. The two crews were clustered along opposite sides of the room glaring at each other. Some were sitting, but most were standing; several of those standing were displaying signs of having been in a fight. The man behind the bar was looking worried and there wasn't a bar maid in sight. All in all it looked like a riot waiting for the chance to happen.

"A-TEN-SHUN" called out Tyr.

The weapons department snapped to attention. Tyr may not have been a member of the High Guard but he knew the benefits of a well-disciplined crew and had instilled that discipline in his department.

"Chief Kowalski, what's going on here?" he demanded, positioning himself so he could keep an eye on the crew of the _Odin_ as well as his own men.

"Nothing sir." responded the Chief Petty Officer who in turn was keeping his eyes on the crew of the _Odin_ rather than his department head. The Chief was one of those who looked like they had been fighting. He was sweating heavily, his clothing was in complete disarray and there was a trickle of blood oozing out of the corner of his mouth. "We were just getting reacquainted with our friends from the Odin."

The way he spat out the word friends made Dylan decide he needed to talk with the senior enlisted personnel of the _Andromeda_ and find out just what the problem was between the two crews. In the meantime it looked like they were going to have to relocate the wetting down ceremony.

"Tyr," said Dylan anxious to avoid any more trouble between the two crews, "have your department assemble outside. We need to change the venue of the celebration."

"Agreed. Kowalski, have the men assemble outside."

"You heard the man folks," said Kowalski still glaring daggers at the _Odin_ crew members, "we're moving. Now form up outside."

Things might have gone off without an incident except that a member of the _Odin_ decided to get the last word in.

"I guess the bitch who runs your ship has removed your skipper's cojónes. I hear he boffs her regularly, but how does he do her without any balls?"

That was the final straw for Senior Spacer Snowden. In the short time he had been assigned to the _Andromeda_ he had developed a terrible crush on Rommie and was not going to let anyone, especially someone from another ship, insult her. He launched himself at the heckler and the general brawl that Dylan had been hoping to avoid erupted.

Dylan stepped to the side to avoid a punch directed at his head. As he sidestepped he pushed his opponent into a knot of struggling men, knocking them all to the ground.

Looking around he saw Snowden lying on the ground with several of the _Odin's_ crew busy kicking him. Dylan launched himself at the group of them knocking them all down into a tangled heap. As he rolled clear he saw a foot coming towards his head. He rolled backwards narrowly avoiding a kick that might have broken his neck. He continued rolling until he was clear and stood up to survey the situation. He started heading for the door, as he maneuvered through the fighting he grabbed any _Andromeda _crewman within reach and threw them in the direction of the doorway. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Tyr had adopted the same strategy of separating the two crews.

Once out on the street he did a quick head count. As he feared some of the crew were still in the bar and now they would be badly outnumbered. He was going to have to make another trip and extricate the rest of his crew.

"Tyr. come with me. We have to get the rest of the crew out before they get seriously hurt. Kowalski get the ones you have here back aboard Andromeda. "

He and Tyr had just reentered the bar when SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEE. The noise was physically painful, the frequency and pitch designed to inflict pain and interfere with inner ear functions without real physical injury. In less than a minute all the combatants were staggering around with their hands over their ears, trying to block out the sound. The brawl was over.

The agonizing sound stopped and Dylan removed his hands from his ears and looked around. There were four blue clad men standing in the entrance-way of the bar. They were all wearing some sort of cowl that covered their ears and were pointing rods about the size of a retracted forcelance at the fighters. Dylan recognized all four of the blue clad figures. It was Officer Stavers and his partners from "The Blastoff".

"Captain Hunt," said Stavers, "we meet again. "When I received the call about trouble in "The Slipstream I wasn't expecting to see you again. You do throw interesting parties first a strip show and now a bar fight."

The man who had been tending bar was talking to one of Stavers's companions. He pointed first to numerous pieces of broken furniture and then in the general direction of the Andromeda crew. After a moment the police officer came over and talked to Stavers.

"It's bad news good news Captain, "said Stavers. "The bad news is, that according to the manager, it was one of your crewmen who started the fight. As such the Andromeda is responsible for the cost of replacing all items damaged during the fight, reimbursement of lost revenues due to the damage and of course there are the fines for assault, battery, public disorder, and rioting."

And the good news is?"

"There were no residents of Kasimir injured. That means that that this case is classed as a misdemeanor. You won't have to appear before the Magistrate and can settle the case here and now "

"And I suppose the other option is that my crew is incarcerated for two weeks until the Magistrate can see them?" asked Dylan wondering just how much the incident was going to cost the _Andromeda_.

"It would probably take over two months for the Magistrate to work his way through a caseload this large."

"I see, and just how large a fine are we talking about here?" asked Dylan as he was reaching for his identification card.

Stavers named a figure that caused Dylan's heart to skip a beat. The fine was greater than three months of _Andromeda's_ operating budget let alone what was kept in the ship's petty cash account. When he got back to the _Andromeda_ he was going to have to request a supplement to _Andromeda's_ budget. It was going to be an interesting message to draft and the response would probably be even more interesting.

"I'm beginning to understand what people mean when they say that the Kasimir spaceport has the best law enforcement money can buy," muttered Dylan as he passed over his identification and keyed in the authorization code that would authorize the transfer of funds from the _Andromeda's_ operating account to the spaceports's coffers. "I've probably paid for a good bit of it."

"Captain you wound me. Are you implying that we would take advantage of visitors?" Stavers did not sound very wounded. "Oh Captain, one more thing. I don't want to see you or any more of your crew for the rest of my shift. Are we clear on that."

"Yes Officer. Crystal clear."

Dylan had Tyr gather up the rest of his department and officers and crew headed back to the ship. The crew was in high spirits bragging about the fight while Tyr was lamenting the fact that they had, by his standards, performed poorly by not annihilating the _Odin's_ crew within the first few minutes of the brawl. Dylan was wondering what Harper and Beka were up to. He finally came to the conclusion that they were undoubtedly enjoying some of the more dubious pleasures of the port. Besides just how much trouble could the two of them get into by themselves?


	5. Who ya gona call?

**Who ya gona call**?

Harper was in a foul mood. Rommie's modifications had worked all too well, and he had not been allowed to rescue her from her embarrassing situation. Dylan and Tyr had taken the girls away and left him with Beka, who was not known for being a party animal. Shore leave was supposed to be fun, and he definitely wasn't having fun. In addition, the mixture of substances being smoked along with the deep thumping bass music was starting to give him a headache. He looked at Beka and saw that she was looking distastefully at the various drunken antics of the bar patrons. Time to leave.

"So, you want to get out of here?" asked Harper.

"Yes I do," responded Beka gratefully. "Let's Blast Off out of this place."

They stood and began making their way to the door. Halfway there, a rough-looking creature with too many eyes blocked Beka's path and began looking her up and down appreciatively. Beka, not slowing down for a second, straight-armed the creature in what in a human would be the throat and kicked him to the side. Harper took savage pleasure in slamming the intoxicated creature face-first into a nearby support pillar. He looked at Beka and they gave each other evil grins as they left the establishment.

"Well, what now?" asked Beka, looking up and down the street for a source of entertainment.

"I don't know," responded Harper. "Maybe we could..."

He was interrupted by a beeping sound that came from his pants pocket. He retrieved a small device from the pocket and studied the readout.

"That's funny," he said. "The scanner shows the presence of Durga rays. But that could only be..."

His voice trailed off as he turned in a complete circle while watching the readout. Then he began walking away from the entertainment district toward a desolate-looking area of town. Beka ran to catch up with him and grabbed his shoulder.

"Harper, what are Durga rays?" she asked.

Harper looked up from the scanner, realizing that Beka would be a good companion to have by his side where they were going.

"Durga rays," he explained, "Are only produced one way - from a poorly shielded Ravana reactor. That's a power source invented by the Chichins on their home planet Sissnik. It works on a process of Duranium fusion. Pretty interesting way to generate energy, really. If it wasn't for those nasty Durga rays, it would be used everywhere."

He looked down at the scanner, swinging it back and forth to find the maximum reading.

"It's coming from this direction," he said, beginning to walk again.

Beka followed as they walked deeper into the warehouse district. The street lights were farther apart in this area, with ample sections of darkened sidewalk where any number of creatures might be waiting to waylay them. Beka was on high alert, scanning the darkness for any sound or movement. Harper was oblivious to his surroundings, concentrating on the scanner. The deeper they walked into the warehouse district, the faster the scanner beeped. It made Beka nervous. To her it was like a beacon saying "Come and get me, I have a high tech piece of equipment for the taking." As the scanner's beeping reached a frenzied pace, Harper suddenly stopped walking and turned to his right.

"It's this way," he said, moving toward a darkened warehouse.

Beka, hearing a sound in the darkness, drew her gun in a lightning move and directed its built-in light into the darkness. But instead of a would be assailant the light revealed something else entirely. A small Chichin child sat near the door to the warehouse, weeping in the heart-wrenching way that only a young Chichin can achieve. Harper ran forward and knelt down beside the child.

"Hi, my name is Seamus," he said. "What's your name?"

The child looked up at Harper with tear-filled eyes then answered in badly broken Common. "My name is Fiss - Fiss - Fissniss," she said, sobbing in a small piping voice. "Fisniss is me."

"Well, Fisniss," said Harper in a cheery voice, "Why are you out here all alone, crying in the dark?"

"It is my father-parent," replied Fissniss. "I think he is injured-hurt in a serious-bad way. He is in there," she said, pointing toward the warehouse door. "He told me to run-travel outside and remain-stay."

"Well you just stay here, Fissniss," said Harper soothingly, "And we'll go see if we can help your father."

Harper stood up and turned to look at Beka. They had been involved with countless entry scenarios just like this one over their years of salvage work. Beka nodded and turned to face the door. Harper put his scanner away and drew his own pistol, then opened the door and stepped through, moving to the left with gun pointed into the interior of the warehouse. Beka came in and stepped to the right, pistol also at the ready. An instant later both guns went back into their holsters as the situation became clear.

The warehouse was well-lighted, with boxes and crates piled and stacked around the walls. A large device stood near the center of the building. It was twelve feet tall and about ten feet in length and width. Obviously of Chichen design, it was built to the same plan they built everything - asymmetrical, with very few straight lines, and painted a rather sickening combination of green and purple. A complicated pattern of glowing lights, buttons, and dials decorated one side of the device, and it emitted a low throbbing tone that seemed to rattle their teeth and bones. Lying near the device was an adult Chichin, burned on his face and right arm. Harper and Beka ran to him and dragged him away from the device. He sat up and looked at them, grimacing in pain.

"Fissniss?" he asked in Common even more mangled than his daughter's. "Fissniss is safe-well? Who are you?"

"I'm Beka, he's Harper," said Beka. "Fissniss is fine. What happened here?"

"I am called-designated Nimmsimm," he said. "I am a buyer-merchant from the Golatha province on Sissnik. I came-traveled to this planet to buy-purchase this Ravana reactor, but it seems to be defective-broken. When I tried to start-activate it, there was a crack-fissure in the shielding and I was injured-hurt from an electrical discharge."

"Electrical discharge?" said Harper. "I didn't see any electrical discharge."

Harper stood up and walked toward the device, scanner operating at maximum.

"Harper, be careful!" shouted Beka.

But the warning wasn't necessary. As Harper advanced to within ten feet of the device, the hair on his arms and the back of his neck began to stand on end. He stopped, warily checking his scanner, then suddenly jumped backward and returned to where Beka and Nimmsimm were sitting.

"That thing is dangerous!" said Harper. "It has a high voltage output that's not connected to a ground system. Electricity wants to go to ground. Anything that comes close to that reactor while touching the floor is going to get zapped. We have to find a way to shut it off. Running at no load like this isn't a hazard, but sooner or later that high voltage is going to find its way to one of the overhead light fixtures or the electrical lines in the walls. When that generator gets shorted to ground that way, with no circuit breaker or safety device, it will go into runaway overload. And if one of these babies blows, it will take half the city with it. The residual duranium contamination will be carried into the stratosphere and make the planet uninhabitable. It's really nasty stuff."

"So what you're saying is that we have to go over there and push the "OFF" button without touching the floor?" asked Beka.

"That's about it," said Harper. "But it's a little more complicated than that. We have to put the reactor into a controlled shutdown by inserting the dampers. The "OFF" button is actually a rotary switch that has to be turned to the SHUTDOWN position and held there while the dampers are inserted into the core. It will take about 30 seconds for a full shutdown. So we have to think of a way to do it."

Harper and Beka stood looking at each other in confusion, trying to come up with an impossible solution to a world-killing problem.


	6. Who ya gonna call? Pt 2

Harper turned and walked to the crates stacked along the wall of the warehouse. He ran his hand across one of them. They looked, and felt like dry wood. He walked back to Beka.

"Help me break open some of these crates," he said.

"At random?" asked Beka. "How do you know what's inside? They're not labeled other than those serial numbers."

"No no, " said Harper, "All we need are the planks."

Beka accompanied Harper to the stack of crates. They pushed and pulled, but they were unable to tip the stack over. Finally Beka called a halt. Looking around, they found a pry bar. Beka wedged it under the stack of crates and stood on it. Harper climbed to the top of the stack and pushed against the top crate. Harper's effort slid the top crate incrementally towards the edge of the stack. Harper, realizing the solution, braced his back against the adjacent stack and kicked out with both feet. This time the upper portion of the stack wobbled. A few more kicks and he was rewarded with the entire upper portion of the stack tumbling to to the floor. Several of the crates breaking open with sound of shattering crockery. Harper slid to the floor and helped Beka pry the dislodged side off one of the crates.

"We didn't have to break so many crates," said Beka, examining what was left of a delicate fluted ceremonial finger-bowl. "You could have climbed to the top and pried off some of the boards."

"Yeah, well when you're saving a million people, you have to break a few eggs," responded Harper distractedly, tugging at one of the boards. "We don't have a lot of time left."

Harper wrenched the board free, then dragged its neighbor off too. He stepped away from the broken crockery and laid the boards end to end on the floor.

"Let's see if this will work," he said.

"Harper, what's the purpose of this?" asked Beka, hoping her theory was wrong.

"It's simple," said Harper. " Wood doesn't conduct electricity very well. I'm going to walk up to the generator laying planks down before us as I go. You're going to give me a push and slide me across the floor to that generator. When I get there, I'll very carefully and hugging the side of the generator turn it off."

"You're sure these planks will provide sufficient electrical insulation?" asked Beka.

"They should. The wood seems dry enough."

"That's what I was afraid of," said Beka, shaking her head. "All right, here we go. Just make sure to...hey, STOP"

Harper looked up to see the Chichin child, Fissniss, running toward the generator. He rolled off the planks and sprinted after her. As he ran past Nimmsimm, the Chichin rose up from the floor and grabbed him. Harper fought him, but Nimmsimm was strong.

"Remain-stay here," said Nimmsimm. "You would be in danger-peril otherwise. Fissniss will prevail-succeed."

Fissniss ran to the generator. No lightning bolts stabbed down from the heavens to fry her tiny body. She reached the side of the generator and typed in a rapid sequence on the control panel. An access hatch slid open, revealing a single large rotary handle. Nimmsimm grasped the handle and turned it to the left. Immediately, the throbbing tone diminished in intensity, control panel lights began to change color and wink out, and full scale dial readings began to drop. In a few seconds, the control panel was dark except for a single indicator light.

Fissniss turned and smiled a big Chichin smile, which consisted of opening her mouth as wide as possible, extending her forked reptilian tongue, and waving it from side to side. Harper, having never seen such a display, recoiled in horror, but Beka began applauding, shouting, and whistling. Nimmsimm, who had also been grinning in a purely Chichin way, tried to imitate Beka's display, but he winced in pain as he tried to clap a good hand against a burned one.

Harper walked over to the reactor and checked the panel, then turned to observe the celebration.

"Okay," he said, looking directly at Nimmsimm, "would someone like to explain to me what just happened here? How did Fissniss know how to shut down the reactor? And why didn't she get zapped?"

Beka also looked at Nimmsimm, who was starting to act very uncomfortable. He gestured to Fissniss, and she came over to kneel beside him where he lay on the floor. He gazed at her fondly, then came to a decision. He turned to Harper.

"It is called-designated tovenar-zauber," he said. "From an early-young age, we Chichins have the ability-talent to commune-speak between each other with silence-quiet."

Harper looked confused, but understanding dawned on Beka's face.

"Telepathy," she said. "She read your mind, Harper. That's how she knew how to shut down the reactor."

"Not precisely-exactly," said Nimmsimm. "This 'telepathy' as you call-designate it, only works-operates between Chichins. But if we contact-touch a person of another breed-race, we can absorb-assimilate their thoughts-knowledge."

"And we both touched you when we pulled you away from the reactor," said Harper. "And you gave the knowledge to Fissniss. But how come she didn't get zapped?"

"My blood is different-special," said Fissniss proudly.

"It is true-factual," said Nimmsimm. "A juvenile-young Chichin's blood will not conduct-transport electricity. So Fissniss was always safe-protected from danger."

"Heyyy," said Harper, pointing a finger at Nimmsimm. "Now I understand why Chichins always start a purchase negotiation with a handshake. You get all the information you need. You know how much the buyer is willing to spend, and you know what the seller knows about his sale item. No wonder Chichins are such savvy merchants!"

"It is something we would hope-wish not to have revealed-exposed," said Nimmsimm, the sound of pleading in his voice.

"Don't worry," said Beka. "Your secret is safe with us. Speaking of secrets, what are we going to do about the broken crates?"

"Maybe if we leave right now, no one will notice," said Harper.

Oh, they'll notice said Beka . But maybe they won't know who did it. With luck..

What ever else she was going to say was interrupted by a third and human voice. "You two, put you hands up in the air where we can see them and step away from the snakes."


	7. Ain't No Justice

**Ain't No Justice**

Beka and Harper turned towards the source of the voice. Standing in the entrance way of the warehouse, weapons drawn were four men wearing blue jumpsuits. Harper and Beka both recognized them from 'The Blast Off'. The law had arrived and it did not look pleased.

The duo quickly raised their hands over their heads. Two of the officers searched them removing their pistols and their identification cards. A third bent over to check Nimmsimm who apparently had fallen unconscious. The fourth and the one obviously in charge stood at a distance keeping his weapon trained on them.

The identification cards were handed to the one in charge. He glanced at them and muttered. 'Andromeda. Why am I not surprised? Well your captain isn't going to bail you out of this one. We have you on assaulting a resident of Kasimir, breaking and entering, destruction of private property and illegal possession of firearms."

"There 's some sort of misunderstanding here officer," protested Beka. "Fissniss here', she pointed to the Chichin child, "told us that her father was injured and we came to help. When we got here we found her father lying on the floor like you see him and detected an overloading Ravana reactor. We had just managed to secure it when you arrived."

"It is true-factual," added the Chichin. "Stranger-friends helped-aided father-parent."

"We can sort this all out at the spaceport security headquarters." He nodded to the two men standing near Beka and Harper and they quickly and efficiently handcuffed the two Andromeda crew members. The third helped the now conscious but disoriented Nimmsimm to his feet.

* * *

><p>"Dylan, there is an incoming communication from Harper. I think you had better respond."<p>

"What was that Andromeda?" Dylan had just dropped off to sleep after trying, not very successfully, to draft a message explaining why he was requesting additional ship's operating funds.

"I SAID you have an incoming call from Harper." From the tone of her voice Core was still upset over the condition of her avatar.

"Where is he?"

"In the Kasimir spaceport jail."

"Why am I not suprised. Put him on." The image of Andromeda disappeared to be replaced by the image of Harper.

"Boss, am I glad to see you. You need to come down here and get us our of here."

"Harper, I told you to keep Beka out of trouble. Just what sort of mess are you in now?"

"We didn't do anything Boss. It's all nothing but a big misunderstanding. Oh oh they say my time is up." The image of Harper blinked out leaving Dylan staring at a blank viewscreen and wondering how much this was going to cost.

When Dylan arrived at the spaceport security headquarters he was ushered into an interrogation room. There in addition to Harper and Beka was his old acquaintance Officer Stavers and a very agitated looking Peresid.

"Well Harper, do you want to explain?"

"It's like this Boss, we didn't do anything wrong. Actually we thought we were doing something good.

"So why are you in jail?"

"We had to break a few things, to deactivate the reactor Dylan," explained Beka.

"Break a few things," exclaimed the Peresid. "Do you barbarians understand just what it is that you did?"

"What reactor and who are you?," queried Dylan.

"Professor Izekomon Iminotep from the archeological branch of the Sinti IV All Systems University Museum. The things that your bumbling buffoons broke were priceless antiques from the Vedran Empire. They were found on Spica V. Thermo _luminescence_ datinge indicates came before the Vedran's discovered slip drive. Their discovery would have turned the archeological world upside down but it is all destroyed because your incompetent crewmen couldn't open a crate properly. Years of work destroyed in an instant. Because your incompetent crew members didn't know about the safety features built into current Ravana reactors."

"Do you want to explain. Mr Harper," said Dylan still confused as to exactly what had happened and why he was bailing Beka and Harper out of jail.

"It's like this Boss, said Harper. "We found a Ravena reactor that looked as if it was going to go into overload. And you know how bad that would have been. But it turns out that the newest reactors have fail-safe systems built into them. When they trigger the reactor becomes permanently inoperable but there isn't any chance of an overload. We thought we were saving the planet but all we were really doing is saving a Chichin salesman a lot of money."

Officer do your duty," said the Peresid

"What is this," asked Dylan as Stavers handed him a flexie.

"A summons," replied Iminotep. "You are being sued by the Sinti Museum for the cost of the expedition and the estimated value of the antiques."

Dylan took the flexie and activated it. When he read the amount the High Guard in general, and the _Andromeda_ in particular was being sued for he had to read it twice to make sure there wasn't a mistake. He was going to be writing another letter to his superiors and this one promised to be even more interesting than the last one. The amount of money the Sinti Museum was asking for would have purchased a group defense frigate.

He was so stunned by the amount of money the university was asking for that he didn't notice Beka and Harper slip out of the police station.

Dylan arrived back at the _Andromeda_ with just enough time to shower, shave and change into a clean uniform before the daily morning meeting with the _Andromeda's _officers and senior chief petty officers. From studying the duty roster he knew that Harper and Rommie had the forenoon watch on the command deck and that Beka was conducting an inspection of the enlisted messing and berthing facilities, but he also noticed that Trance was conspicuously absent.

"Lieutenant Tyler, where is our medical officer?"

"She's in sickbay sir." Lieutenant Tyler was the medical department's second in command and normally stood in for Trance when she was treating a patient.

"Oh, is she treating someone?" asked Dylan.

"No sir, but she is in sickbay if you know what I mean."

There were chuckles from the rest of the assembled staff. Apparently Dylan and Tyr's arrival with the intoxicated Rommie and Trance had not been as discreet as they had hoped. Nor did it help that Dylan was sporting a black eye which he had acquired during the brawl at 'The Slipstream'. Tyr of course was completely unmarked. Deciding that a good officer always knew when to conduct a strategic retreat, Dylan adjourned the meeting early and headed to the command deck.

The command deck was almost totally dark, lit only by the emergency lights. Rommie and Harper were both on watch but Harper was standing unusually far away from the ship's avatar.

"Morning Boss," whispered Harper.

"Why are you whispering Mr. Harper," asked Dylan in a normal conversational voice. "And why are the lights so dim?"

"Quiet!" Rommie snarled at Dylan. "Stop shouting."

Harper put a finger over his lips in a 'Shssh' gesture then waved his hand indicating Dylan should join him. Still puzzled Dylan walked over to Harper.

"Why are you standing so far from her," he whispered.

"She was complaining that my heart was beating too loudly. I figure the way she's feeling right now she just might be willing to make it stop."

"I don't suppose you programmed her so that a few aspirin would take care of the hangover did you?"

"She wanted the full effects of drinking Boss," whispered the ship's chief engineer. "A couple of aspirin wouldn't help any normal person with all that she took in last night so it won't help her either. I keep telling her that she need the hair of the dog that bit her but she wont listen"

"You're still shouting," complained Rommie. "And I fail to see how the hair of a canine will improve my condition. Especially since I am suffering from the effects of ethanol poisoning not from an animal bite."

"Harper means you should have another alcoholic drink Rommie. It's an old Earth cure for a hangover."

Some food would help too," suggested Harper. "There is still plenty of bacon and eggs left in the galley. They were too greasy for the crew."

Rommie made a gagging noise, put her hands over her mouth and ran off the command deck.

Andromeda's image appeared in the main viewscreen. "You realize, Harper that when she recovers she is going to come looking for you. Captain, you have a message from the supervisor of Kasimir spaceport"

"Put in on Andromeda."

Dylan read the message. Stripped of all the legal language it stated that the _Andromeda_ was permanently banned from Kasimir, that any High Guard ships visiting the planet in the future would be required to post a security bond, and that an official complaint was going to by lodged concerning the behavior of the officers and crew of the _Andromeda Ascendant._

Dylan groaned mentally. It had been over 300 years since his last promotion. After this visit to Kasimir it would probably be another 300 years before he saw his next one.

"Andromeda, are all the crew aboard? It seems that we are no longer welcome here."

"Yes Captain, everyone is aboard."

"Thank you. Pass the word. All hands man their debarkation stations."

"What course should I lay in for the pilot?"

"Anyplace where there are lots of Restorians or Dragans."

"Sir?"

"Now that the crew has had their shore leave it's my turn for a little rest and relaxation. Shore leave is just too strenuous for me.


End file.
